Traditions of family, excellence, and art in the kitchen
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
Sixteen years of SMEG’s exclusive Philippine distributor Mondo Cucina Inc., is a genuine cause for celebration among discriminating homeowners, kitchen enthusiasts, and high-end property developers. Established in 2007 by Ton and Karen Concepcion, Mondo Cucina has seen to it that this much-admired Italian brand of built-in and free-standing kitchen appliances has a secure and dependable home in the Philippines, with a customer journey that’s comparable with anywhere else in the world where the brand is enjoyed.
(FROM LEFT), Matteo Lupi, Export director Asia for SMEG with Karen and Ton Concepcion of Mondo Cucina Inc.
SMEG stands for Smalteria Metallurgica Emiliana Guastalla - which beyond the technical jargon in Italian, means it’s a metal enameling factory based in Guastalla, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. It was founded by Vittorio Bertazzoni Sr. in 1948; and he’s made it a point to make the three pillars of functional excellence, daring design, and modern technology, all be fused in any SMEG product. Whether retro or classic, or modern in look, those three pillars of SMEG are always incorporated to make their appliances become potent statements of the homeowner’s sophisticated taste, demand for performance, and fine sense of aesthetics. In truth, SMEG appliances are functional, living, and practical works of art.
This close affinity of SMEG and Mondo Cucina with art and design came to full fruition as it celebrated it’s 16th anniversary at the Ayala museum, and unveiled a stupendous installation called SMEG’s Garden of Kitchen Delights. The ongoing Ayala museum Juan Luna exhibit as a special treat to the invited guests of Mondo Cucina, further galvanized this connection of SMEG with recognized masterpieces in art.
A section of SMEG’s Garden of Kitchen Delights.
The Garden of Kitchen Delights was like being transported to an Italian summer garden in full bloom, but in the comfort of the museum halls. Lemon trees, lush foliage, flowers, and the SMEG appliances, were all elememts of this installation that literally took your breath away, and begged you to create your own IG-moment. For me, the evident attention to detail said so much about the brand and it’s overall commitment to design and quality.
If I look back, I vividly recall how back in 1997, I loved SMEG’s introducing their FAB range of fridges. It was the ultimate cool, retro lines from the 1950’s, but in a fridge that compared favorably with the technical specifications and features of any high-quality fridge of that year. It was technology and modernity, fused with a respect for retro-design and classicism. But there was no one distributing SMEG here in the Philippines in those days.
It may have taken Ton and Karen a decade from that FAB launch to realize their dream of representing SMEG here; but they have not looked back since. Beyond the exuberant homeowners who recognize and appreciate SMEG, there are the developers who know how making SMEG appliances part of their luxury offerings is a popular, additional value proposition. These include Ayala Land Premier, Rockwell Land Corporation, Shang Global City Properties Inc., RHK Land, PhilRealty and Holdings Corp., and Alphaland Corporation, to name a few.
The collaborations of SMEG with fashion house Dolce & Gabanna have upped the ante in terms of connecting these appliances to art. These hand-painted fridges are conversation pieces, and fun. Over the years, award giving bodies in the industry, such as Red Dot, iF Design and Good Design have recognized SMEG products time and again.
As Mondo Cucina founder and owner, Ton Concepcion, was happy to declare, “Mondo Cucina’s mission is joy through excellence. We believe that this can be achieved by handling all our customers’ needs in a seamless manner - from shopping for kitchen appliances, to delivery and installation, then after sales service. They only have to talk to us. That is how we bring joy.”
And it’s this joy that has been shared and spread over the 16 fruitful Mondo Cucina years. The event reaffirms SMEG and MCI’s gratitude to its partners, and its commitment to continue this tradition of excellence, as shared by the two families - the Bertazzoni’s and the Concepcion’s.